T&F Eyes 2012 Penn Relays CarnivalThe oldest and largest track & field meet in the U.S. begins Thursday, April 26 for BC

From left: Caitlin Bailey, Caroline King, Jillian King and Siobhan Breagy on the podium after winning the Penn Relay 4x1500 Championship of America. (2011)

April 24, 2012

Chestnut Hill, Mass. - A year removed from capturing the first Penn Relays title in nearly four decades, the Boston College track and field teams return to historic Franklin Field for the 118th Annual Penn Relays Carnival on Thursday, April 26.

The meet can be followed in numerous ways: Facebook, Twitter and/or a live-stream. A three-day pass is available for $15.95 or single-day subscriptions starting at $5.95 can be purchased.

The Eagles will not defend their 4x1500 Championship of America crown, electing to contest several other events. Last year, a contingent of Caitlin Bailey, Jillian King, Siobhan Breagy and Caroline King became the first-ever women's track team from The Heights to win an event at the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States. The relay set a school record of 17:25.19 (recap) and saw C. King named the College Women's Athlete of the Meet for Relay Events for her efforts.

Boston College has been selected to compete in the discus, distance medley relay, 3,000-meter steeplechase championship, 3,000-meter championship, 5,000-meter championship and the college 4x400-meter relay. To view the Eagles 2012 Penn Relays page, please click here.

Senior Kelsey Huckins will open the meet for the Maroon and Gold in the discus at 4 p.m. on Thursday. In the final competition before the ECAC/IC4A and New England Championships May 11-13, the Westmoreland, N.H. native carries a qualifying mark of 47.83 meters (156-11.0 ft.). The distance presently earns Huckins a bid to the NCAA East Regional (top 48 times/distances) and puts her near the top of the Penn Relays field. Huckins is the school record holder in the discus, having registered a distance of 49.30 meters (161-9.0 ft.) at the ACC Championship in 2009.

Claire Bingham and Erin McKenna join the King sisters for Distance Medley Championship of American slated to go off at 5:20 p.m. on Thursday. The Kings bookended the school record (11:16.02) set back in 2010 at the Penn Relays and will do so again this year. Bingham will handle the quarter-mile leg and make the exchange with McKenna, who will run the half. Defending champion Georgetown (10:51.49) and runner-up Tennessee return three-fourths of their lineups from 2011.

Jordan Hamm will be the first Eagle on the men's side to compete, when the men's 3,000-meter Steeplechase Championship goes off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Java Center, N.Y. product scored BC's only points at the ACC Championship with a fifth place finish in this event. Hamm's 9:03.51 is the fifth fastest time in school history and has him positioned to run at the East Regional in Jacksonville, Fla.

Junior Bridget Dahlberg and sophomore Morgan Mueller will compete in the women's steeplechase. At the conference meet last weekend, the Eagles were a part of a trio that rewrote the BC's all-time top performers list for the event. Dahlberg's 10:18.32, third best time in school history, is the top time in the field by 38-hundredths of a second. Mueller's 10:33.42 went down as the fifth fastest clip at BC and positions her make it to the NCAA Provisional meet.

The women's 3K, featuring Hope Krause, Heather Garcia, Allison Stasiuk and Liv Westphal follows the women's steeplechase at 8:30 p.m. Westphal is seeking a spot on the French National Team for the World Junior Track & Field Championships in Barcelona from July 10-15, but needs to run a 9:26.00 or better. The freshman from Limoges, France ran a 9:29.23 at the Columbia Last Chance meet in her final meet of the indoor season.

Boston College closes out Thursday with two entrants in the Olympic Development 5,000-meter run. Junior Elizabeth O'Brien represents the women's side at 9 p.m. and classmate Louis Serafini takes part in the men's section at 10 p.m. O'Brien set her personal record of 16:57.85 in last season's 5K at the Penn Relays. Serafini established a personal best of 14:44.69 at the ACC Championship last week.

The Eagles will send Brian Smith, Connor O'Neill, Kellen MacDonald and Jack Hennessy to the track for the preliminary round of the 4x400-meter relay on Friday, April 27 at 4:40 p.m. The eight fastest teams qualify for the championship on Saturday, April 28 at 6 p.m. The next eight fastest compete in the IC4A Final on Saturday at 5:55 p.m. and the following eight best times move on to the College Final about 15 minutes earlier in the day. The squad's best time of the 2012 campaign (3:16.72) was set at the league meet last weekend.

Approximately 22,000 entrants from 60 countries across all levels of experience compete at the Penn Relays. More than 425 races are conducted in 35 hours. For more information surrounding the Penn Relays Carnival, please visit thepennrelays.com.

Past Eagle Championships: 1924 - College Men 4x800 (7:47.6) 1925 - College Men 4xMile (18:05.2) 1925 - College Men DMR (10:27.4) 1926 - College Men DMR (10:25.6) 1927 - College Men 4x800 (8:07.0) 1932 - College Men 4x800 (7:54.4) 1963 - College Men DMR (10:01.3) 1975 - College Men Sprint Medley (3:20.7) 2011 - College Women Championship of America (17:25.19)